Heading into the Mid-American Conference Championships, Ridge Robinson had one goal on his mind: first place.
The redshirt senior nearly accomplished his lofty goal and took second overall in a pool that featured more than 60 runners.
Robinson, who led for most of the race, said that Eastern Michigan's Terefe Ejigu, overtook him near the 6k mark and never relinquished the lead.
I tried tiring him out
Robinson said, but he had answers for every little surge. Every time I picked it up he was right there on my tail.
I'm pretty happy with my finish, though, honestly. The highest place I'd ever finished before was 23rd and that was junior year, so I'm definitely happy with how I did.
Robinson finished the race in 24 minutes 33.5 seconds
a time that put him on the 2010 Men's Cross Country All-MAC First Team.
Scott Meyers joined him on that list of the meet's top seven finishers. The senior finished in fifth with a time of 25:53.3.
He's been talking about being first team All-MAC all year, Robinson said
And we've been talking about having the best one-two punch in the MAC.
Scott's a very determined person. When he makes a statement
you can basically count on him to come through on it.
Robinson and Meyers were the two best runners for the Ohio men on Saturday.
As a team, they finished fifth overall with 107 points, which was 13 behind the two schools that tied for second, Kent State and Miami.
Ohio's women came in fourth place as a team, scoring 89 points. As usual, Annie Beecham turned in the best effort. The redshirt senior finished in fourth overall.
Beecham crossed the line in 20:59.8 and she was the only Bobcat to make the Women's All-MAC First Team.
Kari Summers, a fellow redshirt senior, made the second team with a time of 21:19.2, which was 10th overall.
The strong performances by Ohio's seniors give the Bobcats momentum heading into the NCAA Regionals in two weeks.
If Ohio's top runners can put on a similar performance to Saturday, representing the Bobcats at the national meet will be a reward for their superb individual seasons.
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Sports
Mark Emery
